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Stream Vybz Kartel’s Album Kartel Forever: Trilogy

Update 10/04/2013: Following a September investigation, Vybz Kartel's communication devices were returned. He offers this statement, through a rep, about his life on lockdown, contact with old friends and the current state of dancehall:

My daily routine is wake up, shower and back in my cell. It's 23 hours lockdown. But I read and write for most of the day, and read or watch TV at night. I only deal with my business through my lawyer. If you're asking if the former Gaza artists are in contact with me: no.

The Jamaican justice system is actually an injustice system. Vybz Kartel can't get bail because he's a flight risk. Our injustice system is not built for ghetto youths or their representatives.

Dancehall is in jail. Although the fact remains that if I die tomorrow dancehall will continue, it's also a fact that the next artist to bring the energy, panache and "Vybz" to dancehall after Vybz Kartel isn't here yet. Look for yourself. Since I've been in jail, reggae has taken over.

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FADER PREMIERE

Vybz Kartel has been incarcerated and awaiting trial (and possibly recording) in Jamaica for the last two years. Today, the label Tad's Records has released a new three-disc behemoth celebrating his music, Kartel Forever: Trilogy. A survey of the Kartel canon, the album also features three previously unheard singles—pro-education track "School" and less-PG "Business" and "Compass." A rep accepted questions for Kartel from FADER for this story; they went unanswered. Over the weekend, police raided Kartel's cell and confiscated his communication devices while investigating the recent murder of producer Patrick ‘Roach’ Samuels. For context on Kartel's career, read his FADER cover story and stream a career-spanning playlist. For more on how the dancehall scene has been shaped by Kartel's absence, read FADER profiles of Popcaan and Chronixx.